Should U.S. Companies Pay for Maternity Leave? Obama Thinks So

WASHINGTON (TheBlaze/AP) — President Barack Obama is encouraging more employers to adopt family-friendly policies by hosting a daylong summit Monday, even though the U.S. government doesn’t always set the best example.

The United States is the only industrialized nation that doesn’t mandate paid leave for mothers of newborns, although Obama says he’d like to see that change.

Photo credit: Shutterstock

“Only three countries in the world report that they don’t offer paid maternity leave — three — and the United States is one of them,” Obama said in his weekly address. “It’s time to change that. A few states have acted on their own to give workers paid family leave, but this should be available to everyone, because all Americans should be able to afford to care for a family member in need.”

California, Rhode Island and New Jersey have a system of paid leave, but it’s unclear how Obama would fund a national system. Obama has not endorsed legislation that would create one funded by a payroll tax, and he pledged in his 2008 presidential campaign not to raise taxes on families making under $250,000 a year.

While some companies offer paid family leave to attract workers, the 1993 Family Medical Leave Act only requires that employers provide unpaid leave for medical and family reasons.

In his address, Obama emphasized what he believes are the economic benefits of paid family leave time.

“In fact, in a new study, nearly half of all parents — women and men — report that they’ve said no to a job, not because they didn’t want it, but because it would be too hard on their families,” he said. “When that many talented, hard-working people are forced to choose between work and family, something’s wrong. Other countries are making it easier for people to have both. We should too, if we want American businesses to compete and win in the global economy.”

Watch Obama’s address

When Obama came to the White House, he instituted six weeks of paid leave for his workers when they have a child, get sick or injured or need to care for an ailing family member, using his authority to set his staff’s compensation under the personnel code. He does not have the power to award paid leave to other federal workers without congressional action since they are covered under a different section of law. The White House has supported the goal of legislation introduced by lawmakers to change that, but it has yet to get through Congress.

Despite the paid leave for White House staff, the challenges of balancing parenting and working are even evident there. The president’s top aides include several dads of minor children but hardly any mothers with school-age kids — National Security Adviser Susan Rice being one prominent exception.

“It is a very challenging and demanding environment” for parents, Obama senior adviser Valerie Jarrett said at a media availability hosted by The Christian Science Monitor. “And I think part of what we have to achieve here is to make it easier — that doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy — it’s just going to be easier. And I think that’s what the private sector acknowledges.”

The summit being held at Washington’s Omni Hotel will highlight businesses with family-friendly benefits to hold up as best practices — Obama says child care and flexible work schedules also are vital benefits. Executives representing Gap Inc., PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Johnson and Johnson, Goldman Sachs, Shake Shack, Cisco Systems and Intel Corp. are participating in panel discussions at the summit.

“Family leave. Childcare. Flexibility. These aren’t frills — they’re basic needs. They shouldn’t be bonuses — they should be the bottom line,” Obama said in his address.

It also comes in a midterm election year focused on women voters, and the White House was devoting all its star power to the event. Obama planned to speak midday and have a meeting with business leaders. Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, planned to open the event, first lady Michelle Obama will deliver a closing speech and several other administration officials are participating on panels.

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